Hame-fastener



(No Model.)

I. W. 8: H L. BOWMAN 8v S. SHARP.

HAME FASTENER.

No. 403,732. Patent ed May 21 1889.

WITNESSES,

Phmuma n hu. Washington, a. c.

UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

IRA V. BOlVMAN, HARRY L. BOVMAN, AND SAMPSON SHARP, OF EAST LIVERPOOL,OHIO.

HAM E-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,732, dated May 21,1889.

Application filed April 28, 1888. Serial No. 272,137. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern- Be it known that we, IRA XV. BOWMAN, IIARRYL. BOWMAN, and SAMPSON SHARP, of East Liverpool, in the county ofColumbiana and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hame-Fasteners; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had 'to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1is a side elevation of our improved hame fastener, showing a portion ofthe hames to which it is attached. Fig. 2 is a per spective view of ourimproved fastener. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of theharnefastener. Fig. at is a detail view of the several component partsof the device detached from one another and shown in perspective, andFig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the latch removed from thehousing or casing.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures.

Our invention has relation to hame-fasteners; and it consists in certainimprovements upon the hame-fastener for which Letters Patent of theUnited States, No. 35S,l94c,were issued to I. V. Bowman and H. L. Bowmanon the 15th day of March, 1887, the obj eet of our said improvementsbeing to provide an auto matic latch for securing the free end of thehooked lever, and to provide for the easy operation of the said lever,substantially as will be hereinafter more fully set forth. WVeaccomplish these several objects as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in whieh- The letter A designates the hook-plate, formed atone end with an inwardly-curved hook and at its other end with a slottedoutwardly-eurved hook, as fully described and shown in the patenthereinbefore referredto,

O designates the lever, which is provided at. one end with aninwardly-bent hook working within the slotted hook or plate A andpivoted upon the pin or pintle D. lVhen the fastener is in its closed orlocked position, the bent hook of lever O,whieh becomes the short arm ofthe lever, will restslightly in advance of the inner edge of the slottedhook or the hook-plate, so that when the lever is coupled with theeye-plate E said plate bears directly against the lever below thepivotal point, thereby causing the outer end of the lever to bear firmlyagainst the opposite end of the lever-plate.

The eye-plate E is of the usual construction, and is provided at one endwith a hook adapted to engage one of the hames in like manner as thecorresponding hook or plate, A, engages the other hame, as shown inFig. 1. This plate A is provided with two downwardly-projecting flanges,(denoted by the let ters ll 11,) whereby a housing or pocket is formedadapted to receive the free end of lever 0. \Vithin this pocket isarranged the pivoted U-shaped gravity-latch G, that side of which whichbinds against the lever being beveled, as shown at g, and bears againsttwo shoulders, 72, formed on the inner side of the pocket-flanges ll.These shoulders or projections it will prevent the pivoted latch frommoving so far back that the end of the lever would strike beyond thebeveled portion of the latch, and thereby prevent the free end of thelever from properly entering the pocket.

-In order to enable the lever to be readily lifted out of engagementwith plate A,we provide it, near its free end, with an enlargement, 1,which is out under or recessed on opposite sides, as shown at t, for theinsertion of the thumb and forefinger in unlocking the latch. To lookthe latch, all that is necessary is to press the free end of lever Odown into the pocket, when it will strike the beveled side of thepivoted latch G, pushing the same aside until it reaches the bottom ofthe pocket, when the latch by its own gravity will fall back into itsnormal position from the free end of the lever, and thus securely lockthe same in the pocket. To unlock the device, all that is necessary isto push the latch back so as to engage the free end of the lever, whenthe same may readily be unlocked by grasping the recessed projection 1.Thus it will be seen that there is absolutely no possibility for ourimproved hame-fasteuer to become accidentally unlocked, while at thesame time it may be operated as easily and speedily as other fastenersof the same class which are not provided with our automatic latchattachment.

Having thus described our invention, We claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States- In the haIne-fastener hereindescribed, the combination, with the hooked plate having a housing atone end, the Walls of which are provided with two shoulders, h, aU-shaped gravity-latoh pivotally secured Within the housing, one side ofwhich is beveled, a hooked lever pivotally secured to the other end ofthe plate, the free end of Which engages with and is automaticallyengaged by the latch, and an eye-plate, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony that We elaim the foregoing as I 5 our own We have hereuntoafiixed our signatures in presence of witnesses.

IRA WV. BOWVMAN. HARRY L. BOW'MAN.v

SAMPSON SHARP.

E. D. MARSHALL.

